Complete Guide to Betting on Boxing

Boxing may not carry the same glitz and glamour as it did in 1996. When Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield clashed at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, boxing was immensely popular, and it demanded viewership around the world.

The good news is, the betting opportunities and chances to make money wagering on fights hasn’t gone anywhere.

This guide covers everything you need to know in order to get you fully prepared to make some money. You don’t have to wait until the next major Pay-Per-View fight is taking place, as some of the lesser popular bouts carry just as much betting upside.

Some of you are probably already betting gurus and just want to hurry up and start betting. If that’s the case, check out our list of top online betting sites for boxing matches below:

We know how valuable your time is. Many of you already study the boxers and have a good inclination on where you want to wager your money. If that’s the case, sign up at the sites above and good luck betting!

For those of you who are curious as to how and why these sites are ranked above the rest, continue reading below.

Why These Sites?

The sites we recommend earned their spot at the top of our page.

Unfortunately, there are some unprofessional review sites out there nowadays. They accept payments from online betting sites to drive readers towards those betting sites, regardless of if they are viable online casinos or not.

This is not a practice we believe in, and we will never conduct business in that manner. We have a specialized team of qualified individuals who scour the sites to determine which ones can be trusted.

Let’s quickly go over the main categories we consider when ranking sites. The full iteration of how we rank our sites can be found by clicking the link provided.

Reliable Banking Methods

A site that looks cool and offers loads of bets is awesome. If the banking methods aren’t reliable though, none of it matters. Having multiple options to deposit and withdraw funds is great, but how efficient are they?

We aren’t looking for the sites that have 14 different third-party deposit processors. We target the online betting sites that have the most trusted and efficient banking options. Those are the sites you will want to be participating at.

Dependable Software

Just like the banking methods, if the software of a site is not dependable, there is no reason to spend any energy or time betting there. Making the right picks only to see the software crash time and time again is not acceptable in our books.

Sites that are lacking in the technological department and don’t have the fastest and most up-to-date software didn’t make our cut.

Supreme Customer Service

As terrific as the best sites are, there will inevitably be issues and problems that arise. These can be “nipped in the butt” quickly and without pain as long as there is a trained and responsible team of support representatives willing and able to help.

We don’t appreciate writing e-mails and asking questions that never receive a response. The sites we’ve suggested come fully equipped with a team of enthusiastic team members that are proficient in assisting customers.

Selection of Bets Available

Boxing is a sport that has been on the decline since their heyday on the Vegas strip in the 1990s. Just because demand and popularity have decreased doesn’t mean that there aren’t still online betting sites out there that want to be there to curb the appetite of the starving boxing fans.

It’s easy to produce a line and accept bets when there is a high-profile fight taking place. These sites not only meet that request, but they are consistently offering odds on all the boxing matches you would be interested in betting.

Having a full range and plentiful selection of bets available is important in order to satisfying a bettor’s needs.

What You Will Find In This Guide

Now that you have the confidence that you need to start picking fights at the online betting sites we listed above, let’s start diving into all the important stuff.

If you are only interested in strategies for betting boxing, we understand. Some of you perhaps just want to relive some fond memories of significant fights in the history of the sport. Use the table of contents above to jump straight to the topic you desire.

There are probably many of you that know a lot about boxing and who the great fighters are, but you might not have much if any experience betting on fights by clicking your mouse on a screen.

We wanted to get those of you comfortable with the idea of betting on boxing matches and to realize it can be safe and profitable if done the right way.

Are You New to Sports Betting?

We totally get it. Betting sports online at the virtual sportsbooks can be a daunting task at first. It may be overwhelming for some to have to give up their banking and personal information online and trust that the sites are legitimate and won’t scam them out of their hard-earned money.

Use the guide below to get acquainted with what betting sports online is like.

Being profitable betting boxing online is more about just knowing which fighters have the advantage. Of course, being familiar with the boxers and the rules is also important to being able to win some money.

It is only half the battle, as understanding some basic guidelines regarding wagering money on sports online is imperative to being successful in the long run.

The Guide above discussing the best tips for beginners when getting started betting online will give you that first leg up on your betting competition.

Don’t just skip over the guides above. Getting comfortable with the large world that is online sports betting is going to be vital to making good picks. Having a nice foundation for understanding the full scope will put you in a much better spot than other bettors when it comes down to making smart picks.

Avoiding making the same common mistakes that casual online sports bettors continuously make is significant if you want to give yourself the best and most realistic chance of seeing your bank account grow.

Once you start understanding how the online betting sites operate, you are that much closer to being ready to start placing wagers. The last piece of information you need before we dive in to “all things boxing” is making sure you have a grasp on finding value in betting odds.

When a fighter is -400 on most sites, being able to find him on the one site he is -375 at is important. Finding value in betting odds goes much deeper than that. Use the button above to immerse yourself further in the subject.

Mathematical equations are real-life examples that are used to help you relate to the sometimes complex topic.

That should be enough information for you to start feeling like an online sports betting veteran without ever signing up for a single virtual casino. What you really came for was to learn about the amazing sport of boxing.

Obviously, gaining some insight into what the online betting arena looks like in boxing and how to make money from it is the basis of this catalog.

Let’s quickly talk about what boxing is to refresh those of you who maybe aren’t familiar or have been watching Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) recently.

What Is Boxing?

If you are brand new to boxing, we can start by telling you that it has nothing to do with traditional boxes. Boxing is a combat sport where two opponents are trading punches, trying to knock their opponent to the ground.

Boxers use their hands, which are wrapped in padded gloves, in order to try and harm their opposition. There is no kicking, no grappling, no ground-combat. This is fist-to-fist fighting- may the best man or woman win.

Professional fights will last anywhere from 4-12 rounds, with each round lasting 3 minutes in length. Between rounds, each boxer has 60 seconds to go to their corner and recuperate with their trainer. This time is used to heal and mend wounds from the previous 3 minutes of trading blows.

Some less-prominent fights, and the lower weight classes, often fight 6 or 9-round fights. Championship and Main Event fights are slated for 12 rounds of good, old-fashioned slugging it out.

A boxer can win a fight in the following ways:

Knocking out their opponent- KO

Technical Knock Out (TKO) – The referee deems a fighter is no longer intelligently defending himself

A judge’s decision, determined after the fight, if neither fighter was knocked out

The opposing fighter is disqualified

The opposing fighter quits or is too injured to continue

The enclosed space where boxing matches take places is known as the Boxing ring or just “the ring”. The gloves that boxers wear during competition are designed primarily to protect the boxer’s hands from getting hurt.

There have been some periods in history where boxers actually fought without gloves. This was appropriately referred to as “bare-knuckle boxing.”

How Boxing Is Scored

Boxing matches are scored by three judges, according to the 10-point must system. This means that the winner of each round will receive 10 points, while the other fighter will receive 9 points.

If a fighter is knocked down during a round, he or she may lose the round 10-8. If a fighter was knocked down twice in the round, the round may be scored 10-7.

Judges determining a round of “10-9” is the most common way you will see a round scored during a boxing match.

However, a boxer receiving a penalty is another way a round can be scored differently than 10-9. Boxers can also lose points during the round if the referee determines he or she does something that is illegal.

Generally, the referee will give several warnings to a fighter before they take away a point. When points are taken away, the round is first scored normally. The judges will then factor in the point, or points, that need to be deducted for foul play.

For example, let’s say a fighter wins the round 10-9, but the referee took one point away from the fighter who won the round. The score would be 9-9.

Each judge scores the fight on their own, and each round is scored independently.

All the scores are totaled at the end of the fight from each judge, and the fighter with the most judges calling them the winner is deemed the winner. The criteria for scoring boxing fights is quite ambiguous and abstract, which results in a lot of questionable decisions.

The scoring system controversies have caused a lot of issues within the boxing community and have been the culprit of driving away a lot of the fans.

Betting Boxing – Types of Bets

A lot of new bettors think that all you can bet on when it comes to boxing is the winner of the fight. In reality, there are a lot of different types of bets you can make before and during a fight.

This flexibility allows you to leverage different predictions that you have that might be more specific to how the fight will go, or may have nothing to do with the actual winner of the fight. Let’s look at each type, and we will explain a bit more of what we mean.

Money Line Bets

This is your classic and most popular bet in boxing. This is the bet on who you think is going to win the fight. Money lines are sometimes referred to as “the odds” by bettors and will give you a good idea of what the sportsbook or the betting public think will happen in a fight.

Money line bets are presented in either decimal, fractional or American odds and they tell you how much you will win for each particular bet. The most popular format you’ll see are American odds, which are represented as a number with a plus or minus sign attached to the beginning.

The plus sign means that the boxer is an underdog, and the minus sign means that the boxer is the favorite. The larger the number after the plus or minus sign, the bigger the favorite or underdog the fighter is.

The bigger the favorite is, the less you will get paid for a correct pick.

The bigger the underdog a fighter is, the more you will get paid for a correct pick.

Money lines are the easiest bet for you to get started with. All you have to do is choose the fighter you think will win the fight. Eventually, you can start branching out to the more unique bets, but the money line bets on which fighter will be victorious are the simplest form of betting on boxing.

Over/Under Bets

As we’ve already mentioned, boxing matches are scheduled to go a predetermined number of rounds, as long as both boxers are in the fight. You have the ability to bet whether you think that the fight will last more or less than a certain number of rounds.

For example, the oddsmakers may set the line at Over/Under 7 rounds. If you bet the under, you win the bet if the fight is stopped for any reason in rounds 1 through 6. If you bet the over, you win the bet if the fight reaches the 8th round.

It does not matter what happens after that—as long as it makes the 8th round, you win the over bet. If the fight stops in the 7th, it is a push, and you get your money back.

Think a fighter is going to knock someone out early?

Take the under.

Think the fighters are going to dance around all night playing defense? Are these fighters extremely durable? If so, take the over. This bet allows you much more flexibility in leveraging information or predictions you have about a fight.

Draws

This is most certainly a gamble, but nevertheless, you have the opportunity to make this bet. This is the bet you make if you think the fight will end in a draw. Draws are rare, but they do occasionally occur thanks to the current scoring system that’s in place.

As you might imagine, you get rewarded handsomely for picking a draw as they are unpredictable and don’t happen too often. A $100 bet can easily score you $1,000 or more.

While we don’t recommend using these bets as part of a profitable strategy, they are fun, and a bit of a gamble if you’re looking for one.

Prop Bets

Prop bets are short for proposition bets. These are bets outside of who you think the winner is going to be. These include the over/under and draw bets, but also includes a whole host of other options. One of the most common prop bets is how the fight is going to end.

You can pick if a fighter is going to win by decision or win by KO/TKO.

As you can imagine, this more precise pick will get you a much bigger payoff if you are correct.

Some sites will even offer the ability to bet on the over/under on the number of punches thrown or landed, or even the exact number of rounds a fight will go. Again, the more specific the prop, the better the payout will be.

Prop bets are a lot of fun for first-time bettors and are a great way to introduce people to the world of boxing betting. They can also be extremely lucrative if you are able to make accurate predictions on the fight. The more popular a fight is, the more prop bets that online betting sites will make available.

Let’s take a peek at some of the props that were offered during the massive spectacle that was Mayweather vs. McGregor in August of 2017.

When will the fight end?

Odd numbered round +150

Even Numbered round +175

Fight goes to the Distance +215

Total rounds of the fight

OVER 2.5 -625

UNDER 2.5 +350

Method of Victory

Mayweather by KO, TKO, or DQ -135

Mayweather by Decision +250

McGregor by KO, TKO, or DQ +325

McGregor by Decision +1400

Fight Ends In a Draw +3300

Total rounds of the fight

OVER 9.5 +135

UNDER 9.5 -190

Will Mayweather get knocked down and still win?

YES +425

NO -850

Will McGregor get knocked down and still win?

YES +900

NO -3000

How many punches will Mayweather throw?

OVER 300.5 -210

UNDER 300.5 +150

How many punches will McGregor land?

OVER 4.5 -3000

UNDER 4.5 +900

Who will have more people with them during their walkout?

Floyd Mayweather -230

Connor McGregor +160

Will Justin Bieber walk out with Floyd Mayweather?

YES +300

NO -500

Will either fighter lose his mouthpiece?

YES +250

NO -400

Which fighter will bleed first?

Floyd Mayweather +200

Connor McGregor -300

We could continue going on and on and on, listing prop bets that were found and offered at the online casino sportsbooks leading up to this fan-crazed event.

The key takeaway here is that the casino operators, both online and in Vegas, are more than aware of supply and demand when it comes to big-time fights. The more interested the public is, the more prop bets become available.

As you can see by the looks of it, many of the props aren’t even related to the results of the fights itself. Betting on things such as who will have a larger entourage or which celebrities may or may not be part of those entourages is what the online betting world has come to when a fight of this magnitude is on the horizon.

The hoopla and excitement that was built up for this fight drove fans straight to the online betting sites. The online sportsbooks were waiting to catch the hungry fans with open arms.

The overabundance of props available was in high demand; all that the sportsbooks and online casinos were doing were providing the supply.

Betting Boxing – Strategies

When it comes to betting on boxing fights, there’s a whole lot more that goes into figuring out who will win other than just looking on paper. Their height and their reach can only tell you a portion of the story. In order to be fully prepared to make some money betting on fights, there are a few things you will want to make sure you cover.

Fortunately for you, our team of boxing gurus created an organized guide on the strategies to think about before placing wagers at the top online sites.

Be sure not to skip over the segment above. There is a plethora of tips and advice that our boxing experts organized for you. It would be a mistake to start placing wagers on fights without at least glancing over our strategy guide. You will not be disappointed.

Live Betting In Boxing

If you’re an action junkie and like your sports betting as quickly as you can get it, you’re going to be a big fan of live betting. Some boxing betting sites will allow you to place bets after the fight has started and in between rounds. The linemakers will actually calculate odds as the fight progresses based on what is happening and provide real-time odds on the next round.

If you’re looking for the most excitement possible while betting, you’re going to want to check out a site with live betting options. Doing homework before a fight and placing a wager gives you a chance to win money; there is no doubt.

Now you can make predictions for later rounds while you are watching the fight with your own eyes!

Different Weight Classes & Organizations

Boxers come in all different shapes and sizes. The great thing about having different weight classes is that there is a chance for everyone to compete, no matter how big or small you are.

Just like other major sports around the globe, many countries want to take part in boxing. This means that there are various leagues and associations that are part of professional and amateur boxing.

We dedicated an entire page to letting you know about these different weight classes and organizations that make up the sport of boxing. Being familiar with this information will only lead to clearer and more informed bets.

The Greatest Boxers – Past and Present

We covered everything you would want to know to get your prepared to bet on boxing matches. It’s kind of difficult to do so without being familiar with the best fighters in the sport.

The button above will send you straight to an organized catalog listing the “Greatest Boxers of all-time, past and present.” Their records and lifetime achievements, as well as how they got into the sport in the first place, can all be found at the click of your mouse.

Highlights of Memorable Fights

The sport of boxing has treated us to a whole bunch of memorable thrills. Whether it was Ali vs Frazier in the “Fight of the Century” back in 1971 or Mike Tyson biting off Evander Holyfield’s ear in their rematch in 1997, we have seen it all.

We thought reliving some of those my memories would be intriguing for many of our readers. For those of you who have been avid boxing fans your entire life, the button above will have you reminiscing on a marvelous trip down memory lane.

Some of you may be too young or don’t remember some of the greatest bouts of all-time. Reading about and watching highlights of the most unforgettable fights is a fantastic way to get you amped up about the upcoming matchups.

Wrapping It All Up

As fun as watching two boxers slug it out in the ring is, making some money while they are doing it makes it that much sweeter. Rather than breaking a sweat and risking injury, you can profit off the fight by simply doing some research and paying attention to the important factors.

Our team of boxing experts’ goal with this guide was to get you completely comfortable and ready to start firing away. Going through our catalog of sections is going to do just that.

After introducing the sport and the types of bets available, we talked about the strategies you’ll want to follow in order to gain an edge on the other bettors out there.

You know that live betting is an option and an excellent way to make the middle rounds of a fight that much more exhilarating.

Of course, the guide wouldn’t be complete without giving you the keys unlocking detailed information on the greatest fighters of the past and present. Our segment that leads you to the most notable and extraordinary bouts of all-time will have you itching to watch the next big fight.

Bookmark this page, and use this entire guide as your foundation for making money.